Elton John Suggests Taron Egerton Covers Album

Elton John suggested that actor Taron Egerton should record an album of covers featuring multiple versions of John’s 1983 hit “I’m Still Standing.”

The idea came up as the pair discussed the upcoming movie Rocketman, in which Egerton plays John and also sings all the songs on the soundtrack.

Speaking on Elton John’s Rocket Hour on Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio, the singer said, “For those of you who don't know, in 'Rocketman' I don't sing anything. Taron has recorded, re-recorded, all the songs that are in the movie, and sings them quite brilliantly.’” He then asked Egerton, “Did you find it difficult to sing them?”

“I think I would have found it harder if it wasn't for the fact that you were so encouraging,” the actor replied. “I think that was a big part of what was an enabler and facilitated me to feel kind of relaxed enough to do them in the way that we have, and, of course, Giles Martin, who produced them, who is just the most incredible man. … I owe a lot of it to him, I think.”

You can watch a clip from the show below.

John recalled how he heard Egerton sing “I’m Still Standing” on the soundtrack to the 2016 animated movie Sing. “I didn't get involved in any of it," he explained.

"I just let you go ahead. ... I knew you could sing because I heard 'I'm Still Standing.' You've redone that in this film, so I think you should do an album of 10 different versions of 'I'm Still Standing.’”

Listen to Taron Egerton in ‘Sing’

Describing Rocketman as a “musical fantasy,” Egerton told John it differed from last year's Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody “in the sense that we sing some of yours and Bernie [Taupin]’s songs, not only as performance pieces but as legitimate pieces of musical theater.”

“It's not Bohemian Rhapsody where the brilliant Rami Malek, who played Freddie, lip-synced," John added. "You're actually doing the whole thing. I can't congratulate you enough.”